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Smokefree Policies Reduce Smoking

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The primary purpose of smokefree laws and policies is to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke.1 However, smokefree laws can also motivate and help tobacco users quit and prevent initiation of tobacco use. Studies have shown that the implementation of smokefree laws and policies can increase cessation and reduce smoking prevalence among workers and the general population1-6 and may also reduce smoking initiation among youth.1,7

Reviews

U.S. Surgeon General

In 2006, the U.S. Surgeon General concluded that "workplace smoking restrictions lead to less smoking among covered workers."1

Task Force on Community Preventive Services

In 2010, a systematic review by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services reported that:2

Eleven studies found that smokefree laws and policies in workplaces were associated with a median 6.4% increase in tobacco use cessation.

Twenty-one studies found that these laws and policies were associated with a median 3.4% decrease in tobacco use prevalence.

International Agency for Research on Cancer

In 2009, a report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer on the effects of smokefree laws concluded that:3

There is sufficient evidence (the highest level of evidence under the report’s rating scale) that smokefree workplaces reduce cigarette consumption among continuing smokers.

There is strong evidence (the second highest level of evidence) that smokefree workplaces lead to increased successful cessation among smokers.

There is strong evidence that smokefree policies reduce tobacco use among youth.

Youth

Studies in:

Found that:

Massachusetts (2008)7

Youth living in towns with laws making restaurants smokefree were less likely to progress to established smoking than youth who lived in towns with weak smoking restrictions (odds ratio: 0.60, 95% confidence interval: 0.42–0.85).

This effect was found to be entirely due to a reduced likelihood of progressing from experimentation with smoking to established smoking.